Caltech Submillimeter Observatory


Caltech Submillimeter Observatory

(kal-tek ) (CSO) A 10.4-meter diameter dish situated near the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii and run by the California Institute of Technology; it began operations in 1988. It is a Cassegrain telescope, housed inside a dome with shutter doors, designed to operate at frequencies up to 900 GHz (a wavelength of about 330 micrometers). When connected to the JCMT with optical fibers, it can be used for submillimeter-wave interferometry. See also submillimeter astronomy.